Rules, Regulations & Author Rights

Effective from: August 2026

The Leafline Magazine is an independent literary publication dedicated to providing a platform for emerging and established writers, artists, and creative voices. These Rules, Regulations & Author Rights govern submissions, publication, editorial practices, and the rights and responsibilities of contributors.

I. GENERAL RULES

1. Eligibility

The Leafline Magazine welcomes submissions from writers and creators regardless of nationality, age, academic background, professional status, or previous publication history, subject to applicable legal requirements.

2. Originality

All submitted work must be the original work of the submitting author.

By submitting a work, the author confirms that:

They are the original creator or have obtained all necessary rights and permissions.
The work does not knowingly infringe the copyright, trademark, privacy, or other rights of another person or organisation.
Any quotations, images, references, translations, or other third-party material have been appropriately credited and, where necessary, authorised.
The author has the authority to grant The Leafline Magazine the publication rights described below.

3. Previously Published Work

Unless a particular submission call states otherwise, The Leafline Magazine prefers previously unpublished work.

A work that has appeared previously in print, online, on a personal website, social media, blog, newsletter, or another publication should be disclosed at the time of submission.

Acceptance of previously published work is entirely at the discretion of the editorial board and may depend upon the rights still available to the author.

4. Simultaneous Submissions

Simultaneous submissions are permitted unless otherwise stated in a specific call for submissions.

Authors must promptly notify The Leafline Magazine if a submitted work is accepted elsewhere.

If the work has already been accepted for publication by The Leafline Magazine, the author should contact the editorial team before accepting publication elsewhere.

5. Multiple Submissions

Authors may submit more than one work, provided that each submission independently complies with the relevant submission guidelines.

The editorial team may limit the number of submissions considered from a single author during a particular submission period.

6. Submission Fees

Unless expressly announced otherwise, The Leafline Magazine does not require a submission fee.

No author is required to make a payment in order to have their work considered for publication.

7. Submission Format

Authors must follow the formatting and submission requirements stated in the relevant submission call.

The editorial team reserves the right to decline submissions that substantially fail to comply with the stated requirements.

II. EDITORIAL POLICY

8. Editorial Selection

All submissions are subject to editorial review.

Submission does not guarantee publication.

The Leafline Magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submission at its editorial discretion. The editorial decision is final, except where an administrative or procedural error has occurred.

9. Editorial Changes

The editorial team may make reasonable editorial changes to an accepted work, including:

spelling and grammatical corrections;
punctuation and formatting;
typographical corrections;
stylistic or structural adjustments where necessary for publication;
formatting for print or digital presentation.

Substantive changes that materially alter the author’s meaning or creative work should, where reasonably practicable, be discussed with the author before publication.

The author retains the right to object to substantial editorial alterations.

10. Titles and Presentation

The Leafline Magazine may make reasonable adjustments to titles, headings, formatting, typography, excerpts, metadata, or presentation for editorial and design purposes.

Where a change materially affects the author’s work, the magazine will endeavour to communicate with the author.

11. Editorial Independence

The Leafline Magazine maintains editorial independence in selecting, editing, presenting, and publishing material.

Publication of a work does not necessarily represent the views, beliefs, or opinions of The Leafline Magazine, its editorial board, or its management.

III. AUTHOR RIGHTS

12. Copyright Ownership

The author retains copyright and ownership of their original work.

Submission or publication in The Leafline Magazine does not transfer ownership of the work to the magazine.

The Leafline Magazine does not claim ownership of an author’s literary, artistic, or creative work merely because it has been submitted or published.

13. Publication Rights Granted to The Leafline Magazine

Upon acceptance and publication, the author grants The Leafline Magazine a non-exclusive right to publish and display the accepted work in connection with the magazine.

This includes the right to:

publish the work on The Leafline Magazine’s website;
publish the work in the magazine’s digital issues;
publish the work in print editions produced by or on behalf of The Leafline Magazine;
reproduce the work in official magazine archives;
display the author’s name, biography, and work in connection with the publication;
promote the published work through the magazine’s official social media and promotional channels;
reproduce reasonable excerpts of the work for promotional purposes.

These rights are granted for the purposes of publication, distribution, archival preservation, and promotion of The Leafline Magazine.

14. No Transfer of Copyright

The Leafline Magazine does not acquire the author’s copyright merely by publishing the work.

The author remains free to exercise their copyright, subject to any specific rights or restrictions expressly agreed upon for a particular publication.

15. Republishing Elsewhere

After publication in The Leafline Magazine, the author may generally republish their work elsewhere, including in:

personal websites;
personal blogs or newsletters;
books or collections;
anthologies;
other magazines or journals;
print or digital publications.

When subsequently republishing the work, the author is requested to acknowledge The Leafline Magazine as the original place of publication.

Suggested acknowledgement:

“First published in The Leafline Magazine.”

Where another publisher requires exclusive or conflicting rights, the author is responsible for ensuring that the proposed republication does not conflict with any rights previously granted to The Leafline Magazine.

16. Author’s Right to Use Their Published Work

Authors may share links to their published work and may promote their publication through their own websites, social media, portfolios, professional profiles, academic work, or other lawful means.

Authors may also retain copies of their submitted and published work for their personal records.

17. Author Credit

The Leafline Magazine will endeavour to publish the author’s name accurately and prominently alongside their work.

Authors should provide their preferred name, pseudonym, or byline when submitting.

Where a pseudonym is used, The Leafline Magazine will respect the author’s stated preference, subject to necessary administrative requirements.

IV. TRANSLATIONS, ADAPTATIONS & THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS

18. Translations

An author submitting a translation must have the legal right or permission to translate and publish the underlying work.

The translator should identify the original author and source work where applicable.

The translator retains rights in their original translation to the extent permitted by applicable law, while the underlying work remains subject to its original copyright.

19. Third-Party Material

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission for any copyrighted material belonging to others when such permission is legally required.

This includes, where applicable:

photographs;
illustrations;
artwork;
substantial quotations;
excerpts;
translations;
song lyrics;
previously published material.

The Leafline Magazine may request evidence of permission where necessary.

20. Images and Artwork

Creators of photographs, illustrations, paintings, digital artwork, and other visual material retain ownership of their work unless a separate written agreement states otherwise.

By submitting visual material for publication, the creator grants The Leafline Magazine the necessary non-exclusive publication and promotional rights described in these regulations.

V. AI & AUTHENTICITY POLICY

21. Original Human Authorship

The Leafline Magazine values authentic human creativity and expects submitted work to represent the author’s own creative contribution.

Authors must not submit material that is substantially generated by artificial intelligence and presented as entirely their own original work.

22. Limited AI-Assisted Editing

Limited use of AI-assisted tools for purposes such as spelling, grammar, formatting, accessibility, or minor language assistance may be permitted where the author’s creative work remains substantially their own.

The editorial board may request disclosure of significant AI assistance.

23. Misrepresentation

Submitting AI-generated or substantially AI-produced material while falsely representing it as entirely human-authored may result in rejection, withdrawal of an accepted work, or removal of a published work.

VI. PROHIBITED CONTENT

The Leafline Magazine reserves the right to reject material that contains or promotes, among other things:

plagiarism or substantial unauthorised copying;
deliberate copyright infringement;
fabricated authorship or credentials;
fraudulent or deceptive submissions;
unlawful material;
discriminatory or hateful content directed at protected groups;
content that unlawfully threatens, harasses, or targets individuals;
material submitted without the necessary rights or permissions.

Literary works may address difficult, controversial, political, social, religious, violent, or otherwise sensitive subjects. The presence of a controversial subject alone does not automatically make a work ineligible.

The editorial team evaluates such material in its literary and contextual setting.

VII. PLAGIARISM & MISCONDUCT

24. Plagiarism

Plagiarism includes presenting another person’s words, ideas, artwork, or creative work as one’s own without appropriate attribution or permission.

If plagiarism is discovered before publication, the submission may be rejected.

If plagiarism is discovered after publication, The Leafline Magazine may remove or amend the publication and may notify relevant parties where appropriate.

25. False Information

Authors must not knowingly provide false information concerning authorship, publication history, rights ownership, credentials, or permissions.

26. Withdrawal of Work

An author may request withdrawal of a submission before publication.

Once a work has been published, removal requests will be considered individually and are not automatically guaranteed.

Requests for removal should include the title of the work and sufficient information for the editorial team to identify it.

VIII. PUBLICATION & ARCHIVING

27. Digital Archive

The Leafline Magazine may maintain a permanent or long-term digital archive of published works.

Archival publication does not transfer copyright ownership to The Leafline Magazine.

28. Print Editions

Where a work published digitally is subsequently included in a print issue, anthology, collection, or print-on-demand edition produced by The Leafline Magazine, the author grants the magazine the necessary non-exclusive rights to reproduce the work in that edition.

29. Promotional Use

The Leafline Magazine may use reasonable excerpts, titles, author names, biographies, and images of published works for promotional purposes relating to the magazine.

Such promotional use does not constitute a transfer of copyright.

IX. COMPENSATION & CONTRIBUTOR COPIES

30. Payment

Unless otherwise stated in a particular call, publication in The Leafline Magazine is unpaid.

If a particular project offers payment, honorarium, royalty, prize, or another form of compensation, the applicable terms will be communicated separately.

31. Contributor Copies

Where contributor copies or complimentary digital/print copies are offered, the terms will be specified by the magazine for the relevant issue or publication.

X. PRIVACY & AUTHOR INFORMATION

32. Personal Information

Information provided by authors during submission, including contact information, will be used primarily for submission management, editorial communication, publication, and related administrative purposes.

The Leafline Magazine will not publicly disclose private contact information unless authorised by the author or required by law.

33. Author Biography

Authors may provide a short biography for publication.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that information supplied for publication is accurate and appropriate.

XI. COMMUNICATION & SUBMISSION DECISIONS

34. Communication

Authors should use the official submission or contact channels specified by The Leafline Magazine.

Authors can contact editors through the given email regarding the status of a submission unless not requested to do so in a notice.

35. Response Times

Response times may vary depending on submission volume, editorial schedules, and available staff.

The magazine does not guarantee a specific response time unless expressly stated in a submission call.

Those not having a response for their respective submissions before publication of an issue, shall be rejected but is encouraged to submit the unreviewed/not responded content again in the next issue.

36. Acceptance

An acceptance is considered confirmed only when communicated through an official channel of The Leafline Magazine.

Being shortlisted, receiving an editorial comment, or being invited to make revisions does not necessarily constitute final acceptance.

XII. AUTHOR RESPONSIBILITIES

By submitting work to The Leafline Magazine, authors agree to:

Submit work honestly and in good faith.
Respect the intellectual property rights of others.
Provide accurate authorship and publication information.
Disclose relevant previous publication.
Notify the magazine promptly if an accepted work becomes unavailable.
Obtain necessary permissions for third-party material.
Cooperate reasonably with the editorial process.
Read and understand the applicable submission and publication terms before submitting.

XIII. THE LEAFLINE MAGAZINE’S RIGHTS

The Leafline Magazine reserves the right to:

accept or reject submissions;
close or reopen submissions;
modify submission guidelines;
edit and format accepted works;
determine publication schedules;
select the placement and presentation of works;
remove material where serious copyright, plagiarism, legal, ethical, or editorial concerns arise;
correct typographical or factual errors;
discontinue a submission call or publication project;
update these Rules, Regulations & Author Rights when necessary.

Changes to these policies will apply prospectively unless otherwise stated.

XIV. ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS

Submission of a work to The Leafline Magazine constitutes acknowledgement that the author has read and understood the applicable submission guidelines and agrees to these Rules, Regulations & Author Rights.

For an accepted work, the specific terms communicated by The Leafline Magazine for that publication will govern where they expressly differ from these general rules.

Nothing in these guidelines is intended to transfer ownership of an author’s copyright unless the author and The Leafline Magazine expressly enter into a separate written agreement stating otherwise.

A NOTE TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS

The Leafline Magazine believes that writers should remain the owners of their own voices and creative work. Our purpose is to provide a platform for those works to be read, shared, preserved, and appreciated.

We therefore seek to acquire only the rights reasonably necessary to publish and promote accepted work, while respecting the author’s continuing ownership and creative rights.

The work belongs to the author. The publication is ours to share.

The Editorial Board
The Leafline Magazine

Rules, Regulations and Author Rights